1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monitoring apparatus for monitoring objects to detect abnormality of the object to be monitored and countermeasure the abnormality of the object, particularly, to a monitoring apparatus capable of being widely used for various purposes, in which an appropriate guard method including observing and countermeasure methods is automatically set by the minimum input required for facilitating the introduction of the monitoring apparatus into a general household.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a monitoring apparatus is equipped with a sensor for measuring a physical amount to generate an electrical signal. The monitoring apparatus analyzes the electrical signal generated from the sensor to monitor the state of the target-object to be monitored and discriminates the state of the target-object between at least two classes, i.e., between the normal state and the abnormal state. Also, where the state of the target-object is discriminated as an abnormal state, an output signal relating to the abnormality such as a report or an alarm is generated. More positively, some measures for removing the cause of the abnormality are taken.
The monitoring apparatus of this type includes a monitoring apparatus utilizing a movable guarding robot that can move with sensors mounted thereon. The monitoring apparatus utilizing a robot is advantageous in that the monitoring can be achieved by simply disposing the robot within a facility, in that a wide area can be guarded because the sensors itself is moved, and in that a high degree of automatic guarding can be achieved by mounting a small number of high function sensors. The monitoring apparatus of this type is not limited to the utilizing of a movable guarding robot alone and is capable of performing guarding more effectively by allowing the movable guarding robot to cooperate with a cheap fixed sensor.
The particular movable guarding robot was proposed first as one of guard systems directed to a large facility such as a building. The particular proposal includes, for example, “Guard Method Using Movable Guarding robot” disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-159187. It is proposed in this prior art that, where the movable guarding robot automatically detects an abnormality, a calibration method is employed in which the guarding robot preliminarily makes a tour during the normal time and calculates the threshold value of the abnormal detection from the sensor output (normal value) in each location on the tour route so as to discriminate without fail between the normal state and the abnormal state.
The guard method disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-159187 referred to above does not require an exclusive guardian so as to lower the operating cost and, thus, the monitoring apparatus can be introduced easily into the general household. To be more specific, the monitoring apparatus permits decreasing the economic burden required for the introduction of the monitoring apparatus so as to make it possible to pave the way to the introduction of the monitoring apparatus into the general household. Particularly, compared with the monitoring apparatus using a large number of fixed guard cameras, the monitoring apparatus utilizing the movable guarding robot is unlikely to produce the feeling of being kept watched and, thus, produces the effect of alleviating the psychological resistance felt by the general user. Also, the monitoring apparatus in which the state of the target-object to be monitored is reported to the user in place of an external guardian matches the feeling of the general user that he does not wish to have the situation within the household overlooked.
An additional problem to be considered and resolved in introducing the monitoring apparatus into a general household is the ease of the initial setting. In general, an exclusive setting staff initially sets the monitoring apparatus. To be more specific, in the guard method using fixed sensors, prescribed sensors are arranged in prescribed locations such as a door and a window through which an intruder intrudes into the household and a kitchen from which a fire is possibly brought about. These sensors are connected to a central apparatus arranged in each household and are further connected from the central apparatus to a remote guard center by using a public network. In a monitoring apparatus of this type, all the operations as to where which sensor is arranged and which sensor is connected to which terminal of the central apparatus are determined and performed by the exclusive staff.
In the guard method utilizing a robot, it is necessary to set in the monitoring apparatus the information including the site to be monitored within the facility and, where a plurality of sites are to be monitored, the route through which the robot makes a tour for monitoring the plural sites and the matter to which attentions must be paid by the touring robot in each guard site.
In general, the guard method, i.e., what and how the monitoring apparatus observes, is determined by the five procedures given below:
(A) Setting of the target-object to be monitored
(B) Expected damage
(C) Guard to be performed
(D) Evidence to be detected
(E) Required preparations and countermeasure
The process of determining the guard method will now be described with reference to FIG. 1.
Where the target-object (A) to be monitored is, for example, a window, the human being knows as a common sense that a thief is capable of intruding (B) into the household through the window, though it is substantially impossible for a fire to take place from the window and it is impossible for the window to be injured or to suffer from a disease because the window is not a living creature, as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, where the guard (C) to be performed includes options of guarding for crime prevention, guarding for the disaster prevention, and guarding for the surveillance, it suffices to perform guarding with crime prevention kept in mind in respect of the window. In this case, it suffices to examine breakage of the glass, unlocking by the key, opening or closing of the window, and presence or absence of an intruder in respect of the evidence (D) to be detected. If exclusive sensors for detecting the breakage of the glass, etc., noted above are mounted on the window, it suffices to monitor the outputs of the exclusive sensors in respect of the required preparations and countermeasures (E). Also, in order to look into the breakage of the glass, etc., by using, for example, a monitor camera, it is apparent that it suffices to mount the monitor camera such that the camera faces the window and is positioned to facilitate the image analysis of, for example, the glass and the lock and to set, for example, the zoom value. It should be noted, however, that some of the required preparations and countermeasures (E) can be determined appropriately by only experts.
In the conventional monitoring apparatus, users input the various setting on the monitoring apparatus as described in the procedures of (A) to (E) shown in FIG. 1. For example, in respect of the position setting of the movable guarding robot, any of the methods given below is employed for teaching the position and posture that are to be taken by the robot. One of the methods is a method of inputting the touring route of the robot on a map of the facility displayed on a control terminal, and the other method is a method of actually operating the robot to store in the robot the route through which the robot was actually moved (teaching play back). It is also possible to impart similarly to the robot the posture of the camera and the setting of the optical system such as the focus, iris and zoom. In any case, the position and posture of the robot or the posture of the mounted camera and the setting of the optical value are imparted directly as values. Also, as disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-159187 referred to previously, the threshold value for the sensor to discriminate abnormality is imparted directly to the guarding robot even in the case where the robot is allowed to learn actually the output of the sensor during the normal state.
Regardless of the situation that the human being (operator) knows what the target-object to be monitored is, the required and detailed values obtained as a result of item (E) given in FIG. 1 are imparted to the monitoring apparatus in place of the information as to what the target-object is. This is because the conventional monitoring apparatus is capable of knowing the target-object only as a series of values determined as a result of item (E) referred to above, and because a sufficient knowledge and system for allowing the monitoring apparatus to determine by itself the procedure of items (A) to (E) are not imparted at all to the monitoring apparatus. Therefore, the conventional monitoring apparatus is configured on the premise that the setting of the values is performed by expert staff, or the monitoring apparatus does not perform at all the particular operation and is capable of performing simple operations alone. Such being the situation, serious problems remain unsolved in the conventional monitoring apparatus as pointed out below.
Specifically, the operation to determine where and how the guarding is done by using a certain monitoring apparatus under differing conditions falls within the domain of the security expert, which is determined in accordance with the monitoring apparatus and the sensor used. Of course, it is difficult for the general domestic user, who is a nonprofessional, to impart by himself the particular information to the monitoring apparatus. In other words, it is difficult for the general user to set up by himself the monitoring apparatus bought from a store so as to operate the monitoring apparatus in a manner to receive a high degree of guarding.
It should be noted that the monitoring apparatus does not have a knowledge and a system for expecting the damage that is to be done to the target-object to be monitored, for detecting the evidence required for preventing the damage, for determining how to deal with the difficulty, and for calculating the value required for overcoming the difficulty. Under the circumstances, it is necessary for the laborious detailed setting operation to be performed by the human being in order to perform guarding.
Where the target-object to be monitored is a window as exemplified above, there is a guard method adapted for the window. Where the target-object is a small kitchen range, there is another guard method adapted for the small kitchen range. Further, where the target-object is a baby, there is still another guard method adapted for the baby. In this fashion, the various target-objects to be monitored can be classified into the “window class”, the “small kitchen range class”, and the “baby class” in accordance with the pattern of the guard method adapted for each of the various target-objects.
If the knowledge on, for example, the “window class” and the system for utilizing the knowledge are imparted to the monitoring apparatus for allowing the monitoring apparatus to perform by itself the procedure of items (A) to (E) given in FIG. 1, it is possible to allow the monitoring apparatus to plan a high degree of guarding for the “window” and to execute the plan by simply teaching to the monitoring apparatus that the window of a kitchen that is to be monitored is the “window class” known by the monitoring apparatus while eliminating the necessity of determining and inputting the troublesome final values.